Kurenai
by Tartarun
Summary: Genjutsu is one of the most underestimated arts in existence. What happens when you merge trickery and truth?


**DISCLAIMER: If I made a thousand paper cranes then I'd wish to own Naruto but sadly at this point in time I don't.**

Genjutsu was one of the most underestimated arts. Taijutsu where you physically whacked people around, Ninjutsu where you manipulated the elements itself, were seen as much more exciting, more powerful, more worthwhile. Kakashi Hatake Copy Nin, master of a thousand jutsu and Gai Maito Blue beast of Konoha's infamous reputations were proof of that. They were legends in their own right, a thousand boys wanted to be like them when they grew up. Kurenai Yuuhi knew they were all wrong. Oh Kakashi was a prodigal son of Konoha, a living nightmare for enemies and Gai was equally as gifted as his eternal rival. But they couldn't compare to Itachi Uchiha. S rank missing nin, genius and genjutsu specialist. The Hyuuga told horror stories about blood red and black pinwheels, this was one of the reasons Hinata had screamed, Hanabi had fainted and Neji had paled to bone white when they saw her dark crimson eyes.

Genjutsu was horrifying in a way most people couldn't understand until they felt it. Against a genjutsu specialist you couldn't trust your eyes, nose, ears, feelings, emotions or even yourself. They can warp your brain in such ways that it broke a person afterwards. She had made so many people relive nightmares, wipe the blood of their parents and lovers off their blades in their heads and reality. She didn't need to get her hands dirty, her victims did it for them. She crept along their chakra pathways slowly, slowly taking over twisting fact and fiction. Amateurs used horrifying illusions of blood and gore, people could spot those. Experts however shorten distances, confuse time, and whisper suggestions in a darkly seductive voice until they believe they're dreaming or reality itself is a genjutsu. She made a Kiri nin think hell itself was reaching up to him, his death count reaching up to him screaming and dragging at him. She made another think his comrades were pulling their blade on him, he slaughtered them all in response then released it to enjoy the look of abject horror and realisation before she made his heart burst from fear. That battle promoted her to Special Jonin status on the spot.

She was an angel, a demon, a goddess. She bent minds to her will, self-choice was joke around her. How many people could think rationally with the illusion of cold steel at their neck slowly slicing? How many people could act when all their insecurities were being hammered open and exploited? How many people could honestly not break down when she twisted acts of love and friendship into mocking parodies making them believe they had been lied to all their life? Itachi caused pain constantly for three days in an unbreakable genjutsu. His brother was traumatised for life. She could have broken him with far less, for all his genius Itachi favoured physical pain in his genjutsu. Kurenai knew mental pain could never be recovered from. She could weave illusions so they flowed perfectly, mixing surroundings sounds, overlapping so when one genjutsu broke another took its place and you wouldn't be able to tell so people thought they were free and walked to their deaths. In her genin days she made a squad of enemy chunin walk cheerfully straight off a cliff edge to the raging waters far below. Kurenai watched and she learnt. All their little details, characteristics, quirks so she could turn it against them.

She enjoyed her craft, feeling the satisfaction as she successfully cast another illusion to make a brother think his sister was dead and to give her a shinobi burning. She watched impassive as he burned his sister alive thinking her screams were merely the call of the wind. She lifted it for the barest of time for him to understand what he had done, she felt a thrill in it. Danger was the way of the shinobi, and she danced with death every time she did that. Then she executed him with a fist through the heart feeling her hand turn the muscle and bone to pulp and the warm blood run down her arm so she could file it away and recreate the feelings again. Blood coated her arms like satin gloves and she revelled in it, mistresses of misinformation loved it when they knew the bare truth. She was responsible for so many deaths, her hands were now metaphorically and literally stained in blood. Eyes of blood, hands of blood she thought aptly as she left the blood to dry as an experiment.

She hadn't met many true masters of her craft. The Uchiha had been journeymen and hypocrites, favouring copying ninjutsu rather than using their Sharingan to enchant. This is one of the reasons she smiles secretly when they're wiped out for they made her blood boil. She gets out of watching the baby Uchiha left by turning her eyes into the Sharingan momentarily and watching him scream and writhe away from her in her ANBU suit then walking out saying he was too traumatised by the event to be comfortable around her eyes. Sasuke to this day hasn't got over his bone chilling fear of seeing the woman with pale skin like his brother, bone armour like his brother, long dark hair like his brother, and the bloody eyes so much like his brother watching him from the shadows! He shudders when he passes her on the streets and she picks it up and smiles.

Kakashi is disdainful of her, not because she is a woman but because he thinks genjutsu is a fine art for a chunin but jonin need to branch out more. She laughs at him in her head for she has trapped him so many times into thinking three hours is but a minute and it isn't well known but she is responsible for starting and keeping his lateness tradition going. For all his supposed mastery of ninjutsu the copy nin cannot defend himself against her. But he is a Konoha Nin and she can only go so far. So she smiles and ignores him every time he casts his one lone eye taut with disapproval in her direction. She is careful though for he is a legend and can crush her like a bug physically but she knows it'll be a tough fight for him. Gai does not know what to make of her, he provided the relief for one of her missions where she made an innkeeper confuse herbs so the combination made a fatal dose and started a conflict between Ame and Suna Nin. He respects her but cannot like her as she steps towards him the innkeeper's blood freckling her face as he was struck down for his 'treachery'. They are complete opposites they know; loud, physical, determined, eccentric, and emotional to quiet, mental, detached, reserved and icy. But after a tough mission they'll hunt each other out and sit in silence as they drink and pointedly not talk to each other.

Some days she has trouble remembering who she is. She curls up in her bed as the force of all her mind warping hits her, after all the minds she's warped is she so sure her mind is truly her own? Or has portions of her victims been dragged back with her? In the dark she lays there and she tries to remember. She needs a person to anchor her she decides, someone who likes her for her own person so whenever she sees that person she'll know she exists as herself not as a collage of her victims. She hunts down Anko at the nearest bar having decided she fits the most categories that she needs and a nefarious friendship is born, is it can be called a friendship. People double take when they see them together loud boisterous Anko and quiet icy Kurenai but she ignores them for Anko is hers and neither of them need public support. She drinks with her and Anko watches her curious but god she feels alive with her. She can forget who she's meant to be and just be what she is. For all her victims are human and she only truly understands when with Anko for she wonders do her victims have an Anko of their own to get back to? Do they have a Gai to depend on? Do they have a Kakashi to amuse themselves with? Do they have an Asuma to hold them?

Asuma is an enigma to her. A shinobi monk. A peace loving, deadly warrior priest. The contradictions draw her in for how can a person exist like that? What would his mind feel like? If she warped it slowly would he notice as she didn't understand him? It is a challenge for her, it's been years since she's had a true challenge in the genjutsu department. So she talks to him, in hopes of understanding him. She is left frustrated and annoyed that it leaves her with more questions than before. He is the Hokage's son, he is royalty in the village so why did he run away to the Daimyo? She has questions and the urge to learn, to know fills her. He's like his element, when she thinks she's got a grasp on him he twists and escapes. In frustration she casts an illusion on him only to be stunned when he throws it off and flicks her on the nose in retaliation. To check she hasn't lost her skills she casts one on Anko and makes her eat ramen like that Uzumaki brat instead of her beloved dango, when she finds out revenge is swift but she cannot bring herself to mind because someone has broken her mind hold.

Soon after she finds that Asuma has recommended her to be a Jonin sensei and she is flattered, surprised and pleased at his personal recommendation. She goes to thank him and he brushes her off saying that kind of talent needs to be passed on, she questions him and he smirks ever so cockily back. She's gone from being intrigued to slapping that grin off his face. She knows she cannot illusion her new charges too severely but she does not want any teams who cannot follow her in her own line. She hides herself as a kind sympathetic woman and gathers information about her new charges. Hinata Hyuuga is a shy stammering girl and her heart sinks at first. But she notices with her usual precision the sheer determination underneath the milky gaze, the elegant poise hiding a more brutal tension and she thinks the girl will be perfect as soon as she comes out of her shell. Kiba Inuzuka is a rash knucklehead she admits and that dog of his isn't trained enough to not get in the way but she can admire his spirit for the same will of fire which smoulders in Asuma's eyes is a raging inferno in this boy. Perhaps she can understand more about him, it won't do for Hinata to get too used to a routine as she had been used. The last boy is Shino Aburame and she feels a connection instantly. Quiet, reserved, in control of a swarm needing huge mental capacities to control, the parallels are obvious and Kurenai is no idiot. She notes his logical manner and smiles. Then she shunshins away satisfied with her new team.

She meets with her team and smiles at their reactions. Hinata gasps in recognition as red and white eyes lock. Kiba cries out as he falls into a mockery of the academy stance and Shino already has his bugs draining her before she demonstrates why she is considered a master of genjutsu. She fools Kiba's nose easily, Shino's bugs a bit more trickily as they buzz angrily and manages to slip the all-seeing Byakugan as she smiles with delight in her head. Fooling that dojutsu has always been a goal for her as a marker of her skill. She feels satisfied at Hinata's disbelief that the Hyuuga eyes can be fooled and comes up behind them hands on their heads and her chin on Hinata's as she kneels and whispers dead. She cannot treat them like an illusion she realises because if she messes up she will not get a chance to try again. Both the sensei and the students are beginning a new relationship but only she realises it.

Kakashi drops from a tree besides her as he asks for a genjutsu for a suitable level for a genin. His whole stock will put her in hysterics he explains a little pride sneaking into his lazy tone. Kurenai tilts her head and gives him Hellviewer and explains how to use it and how not to overload the coils. He brushes her off by the end stating he knows how to use genjutsu but she detects a grudging note of admiration as she's told him several things he doesn't know. Finally he might just be recognising her as an equal. She's feeling generous so she skips the genjutsu on him and for the first time in years he is on time and gives the rest of the shinobi heart attacks.

Hinata is blossoming under her tutelage, she picked up the reserved logical side from Kurenai as well as the viciously cruel streak in battle. She is proud as she watches Hinata whip through katas and utterly dominate the boys in a spar. Kiba is progressing nicely, now he thinks every action through, furthermore Akamaru and he are now acting as one being not as a team and she feels so much pride in them both. Shino is coming along well, his logical side being honed by her mind games and deception. He's mastered the act of silence, not for the first time she wonders if she can kidnap a Kiri nin to teach him silent killing. With her they are a team. But she has taught them well and in public they take on personas for information is power and deception is king. Hinata acts the stammering girl she used to be and Kurenai watches as she too analyses her comrades for weaknesses and quirks. Genjutsu is a strong point of the team and they all understand the horror and beauty of it. She leans against a wall in plain sight as people ignore her and watch Kiba act the fool and Shino doesn't need to act, he has the attitude down perfect.

Missing Nin try to kill her team. She blurs into action, furious at their daring. She confuses the nervous system of the first so he breaks all his joints by forcibly bending them in the way he thought correct. The scream he lets out slows down the rest as they re-evaluate the slender woman with blood in her eyes. But it won't save them, three more fall to her spell as the brain is fooled into narrowing the windpipes due to the supposed increase in oxygen. They choke and fall and do not get up again. Kurenai fights not just for her life but for her team's. In the middle of the battle she spots Kiba biting and slashing with poisoned teeth and claws and a genjutsu to confuse the opponent if he really hit them or not. Her heart skips a beat in pride when she clinically notes the genjutsu was well crafted. Shino absorbs their chakra and casts his own illusions while they are less well made the draining of his victims makes it harder for them to break it and Hinata, oh sweet Hinata closes all the chakra points she can reach. Two, three, no five will die from organ failure before the night is out she counts and she understands she can count on her team to be a family or a team who fights together stays together. After the battle they look at her in blatant shock and awe as she rises from piles of corpses, blood contrasting with her skin as they remember her sheer brutality and grace and this battle teaches them never to underestimate genjutsu.

Asuma and his team need help the Hokage tells her worry for his son colouring his tone. She nods and whispers hai and walks out with her team falling behind her, feeling the incredulous eyes at her back at the protective formation they fall around her and she smiles. Her predictions came true, her team was forged in battle, steel and blood and they are a family now. Kiba brought them all dog tags to wear sheepishly one morning, she accepted it without hesitation thanking him as warmly as she could. Shino the next day marks them all with his bugs, an unspoken mark of the bonds they shared, and for his sake she pretends not to notice. Hinata does not do anything quite so subtle and introduces them to her family. Hanabi stares at her in undisguised awe, a far cry from the fainting, Hiashi himself is taken aback and Neji tries not to flinch under her gaze. Her words are polite but her eyes warn them all. Harm my student and you will not survive. The Hyuuga family wish her good night and nearly break from decorum by relaxing in relief, Hanabi asks herself how her meek sister could have gotten such a terrifying woman as a sensei. From then on Hinata comes more relaxed to sessions and Kurenai smiles, her team have come to fear and anticipate her smiles for they know her plans are working out.

Her squad move out at first light, flitting from shadow to shadow as they track the Hokage's son. Asuma is clever and left coded messages only Konoha Nin could trace and they catch up with him soon surrounded by piles of burning caravans and a bloodthirsty missing nin raid. Kurenai bursts into action, turning nin against nin as she fights to get closer to Asuma, willing him not to die until she can understand him. Her team move to aid Asuma's kids and she lets them go confident. Asuma stares at her shock as he wonders why his father would send a new Jonin to help them with a fellow rookie team. He gets his answer as she enchants several more bandits to run head along into his wind blades, Kakashi could dominate the battle field, Gai could break the battlefield, he himself could slice it to ribbons but Kurenai could manipulate it and with his genin around it was better that they didn't get caught in the crossfire. Together the Jonin whirl and weave webs of death, memories of life risking battle coming back to them as the teamwork so valued by Konoha makes every move of theirs accompanied by death. In the end when all the nin lay dead and Team 10 were a tiny bit more respectful for Team 8, Asuma clasps Kurenai's hand in thanks and she knows she's proved her rank with the former Guardian of fire.

Gai comes up to her one day and begs her to teach his student about breaking genjutsu as he cannot mould chakra. She is alarmed when he gets on his knees and hugs her around the legs wailing about spring times of youth being affected by rot. She is curious about this, a ninja who cannot mould chakra, that's a death sentence if he ever faces a genjutsu or a ninjutsu specialist and she tells Gai as such. He grows serious and tells her that's a death sentence for shinobi with chakra too and as shinobi they flirt with death, what difference does the gift of chakra make to it? She is left thoughtful and agrees to talk to the boy, Gai however booms to the heavens that she is so youthful and runs off doing laps on his hands. He yells back he'll teach the Aburame close defence in return as his voice trails off in a cloud of dust. She is left a bit perturbed at her relatively comfortable life as compared to before and takes several difficult missions to asses her skill. She slips into the old routine of creeping along coils and softly bending vision and colours until they waver and fall, her partner quickly cuts their throat and they move on to the next target. They come back, one ninja utterly spotless and the other smelling of iron and dirt. Kurenai smiles for she still lives up to her name, Kurenai Yuuhi of the Crimson Mirage.

Kakashi comes back haggard from his Wave mission, it has served as a wakeup call for the lazy Nin and he resolves to get better, as good as he was back in his ANBU days. Kurenai watches in awe as Kakashi whirls and moves with such surety, every day regaining the grace and aura of danger he once had. Gai not to be outdone trains even harder and the two legends of Konoha are reborn. Asuma comes up to her and they watch in silence, Kurenai admitting in her head not that she would ever say it out loud but Taijutsu and Ninjutsu could be equally as impressive as Genjutsu. Asuma brings her into his training sessions and by God she is still so frustrated by him. Flying swallow is beautiful with wind blades and she has to work very hard to avoid them, in return he runs in circles chasing thin air when she recovers sufficiently and she has never laughed so hard when he runs into a tree and knocks himself out.

Their rookies notice their senseis preparing for war and they too prepare. Team 7 for the first time present a united front, Kakashi has this incredibly relieved gleam in his eye as he slouches after them. Team 10 throw themselves at their missions with the efficiency of their parents, Asuma confesses to Kurenai proudly. Gai's team are seen training with their sensei at insane times even for Jonin, Gai has this manic gleam every time he looks at them running laps on their hands. Her team slink into the shadows and watch everyone with guarded eyes like lone wolves, they see and they are ready. Anko warns Kurenai about sound based genjutsu from Oto and to prepare a defence. She is intrigued, most of her illusions are a combination of all the senses, to use just sound means while easy to spot it would be incredibly hard to break especially if it's layered. Next time the Jonin walk into their favourite bar to talk she hits them with an illusion and the counter and notes the side effects as they stumble and roar after her. She practises and counters until she is certain she can break any illusion they can throw at her. The Hokage quietly pulls her aside to instruct a group of ANBU in her field, she welcomes the stark bone armour and discipline as her boots make as much noise as she wants.

Asuma surprises her one day by wearing ear plugs and a blindfold and using air waves to sense and fight her. She is caught off guard and his blade ends up drawing a thin line of blood from her neck. He watches the blood roll down her neck then barks at her to work on that weakness. Shamed and furious she agrees. To be caught so surprised and at such a disadvantage was unacceptable. She is a genjutsu mistress and proud of it, to resort to ninjutsu or taijutsu is humiliating to her and she vows to overcome that weakness. Hinata timidly asks her what's wrong after several days of furious research and experimentation, Kiba and Shino are standing very far away she notices and she picks up Kiba's lips mentioning monthly timing. Enraged and amused she chases her team with shuriken, kunai, traps. They scream and run away only to run head along into traps which blow up three training courts, in their haste to escape their insane sensei Hinata unlocks Kaiten as a mode of defence against all the projectiles. After eight hours she relents and lets them stagger away and collapse and she walks away chuckling.

Their little display makes her think they're eligible for the Chunin exams, she's proud of her kids but sad that she might lose them to rank. Kakashi signs his kids up and as Asuma takes it as a challenge she does so as well, she has no wish to be the only sensei not having her kids in the exams especially as they're ready. As Gai asked her a while back to help his student she comes up with a solution, she makes him wear a belt around his leg with inward spikes so when he moves they dig into his thigh and constantly break any gen jutsu. She can get around it for sure and so can other true masters but anyone else will have a lot of trouble. It turns his jumpsuit a splotchy red and Gai thanks her tearfully. She sits primly in the designated Jonin area watching foreign Jonin walk in and evaluating her. Suna Nin with half of view obscured, Ame Nin with a hardly noticeable limp on the right side, Kumo Nin with enough swords to approach the appearance of a pincushion. Kakashi slouches on her left and Asuma perches on her right, together the rookie senseis give off a vibe of carelessness with an underlying hint of danger. Because she realises they are a team and Kakashi values his team, Asuma buys too much into the will of fire to leave her now and she is pleasantly surprised.

Kurenai meets up with her team at the preliminaries and Kiba hangs on to her dress like a lost child. Shino too stands closer for comfort and Hinata joins Kiba in holding on to her arm. The fact they have a perfect 360 view of the room does not escape her or the other senseis and they shoot her a look of amusement. She winks one crimson eye back at them and pulls her team closer subtly placing them so Hinata could activate her Byakugan discreetly. She kneels with hands and chin on their heads like so long ago and she whispers for them to use their weakest art to fight, for only when their weakest art is worthy of chunin then truly can they grow strong. They look back impassive and her heart could burst from pride in her team. Rookies never get this far in the exam and it is phenomenal all of them have.

Shino was called first. Kiba stared at his opponent with narrowed eyes while Hinata checked out his teammates. She grins ever so slightly when Shino keeps his head and just uses his bugs to utterly dominate his opponent. Gai looks at her in approval across the room when he notices Shino isn't using any of the techniques he taught him and correctly deduces she had something to do with it. Shino walks up victorious and thanks her for her teaching. She ruffles his hair in response, a rare show of genuine affection. Asuma comes over and quietly talks to her as the fights commence. She is utterly disgusted by the state of his kunoichi and tells him as such and he asks her if she was willing to mentor the girl. She looks at the Yamanaka more carefully, genjutsu in a mind reader's hands. A wicked smile curves her lips as the possibilities explode in her mind. The old feelings of pride, satisfaction and joy in her work comes back and she lets out a small laugh utterly delighted in the turn of events. Asuma looks a bit worried now but she assures him if he tries to take the girl away now she'll put him in an illusion Jiraiya would be afraid of. He looked even more doubtful of his decision now.

Kiba is called afterwards against Kakashi's Uzumaki brat. She sees her genin guide the fight and is prepared for him to win just when Uzumaki shows exactly why he was the most surprising ninja. She balled her fist at the humiliation against her student and narrowed her bloody eyes at the brat. She wants to rip his mind apart for making her genin lose in some darker part of her mind but she recognises the fact he won with a nod to Kakashi who actually looks sheepish. Hinata's fight worries her. Neji looks up at her and meets her crimson eyes squarely, this was bad. She grew angrier and angrier as he belittled her student and began a brutal beat down. If she would use all her skills it would be much more even she thought darkly keeping herself in check by planning illusions to burst a man's heart in fear. Neji's hand shoots towards Hinata's heart and she blurs. She would not watch her student die, Gai moved to stop his student killing his cousin and to save his life for if Hinata died Kurenai would strike him down without mercy. She loops a hand around his calf and jerks him back as the other senseis restrain him too. Neji meets her eyes again and flinches at the sheer fury shining in them. She even fully forgives that Uzumaki brat for beating Kiba when he swears a blood vengeance on Neji.

She visits Hinata in the hospital with Shino and Kiba trailing behind. It is no secret she is livid, Sasuke had taken one look at her and hurried off in another direction. She smooths a hand over her brow and gives her the nicest illusion she can do and leaves her team there to calm herself down. Anko lets her in the torture department gladly, Kurenai unwinds explosively. She wrenches control of people's coils brutally feeling them chafe and bloat under her chakra and revelling in their agonised screams as they burst flooding their body. She ties them up in knots watching the internal chakra build up and burst the coils even more. The prisoners flop around moaning and drooling but she is beyond pity or mercy. She feeds them sickly sweet fruit only for it to turn to ash and razor blades ripping up their throat and cough up blood as they retched. For one unfortunate man she gives him the sensations of bamboo growing through him coiling and ripping with barbed thorns, the cells ring with screams for hours and when she billows out they moan and gibber in terror and confess everything just to never meet that woman again. She felt alive once again, dancing with death had honed her enjoyment of her work.

She heads to the Hyuuga home with bloody eyes burning but Gai and Kakashi intercept her. Gai gets on his knees again and begs her to forgive his genin and not kill him as he might lose one student, he doesn't want to lose another. Kakashi drags him up and explains the ramifications for killing a leaf Nin, they would be duty bound to execute her. She speaks and Gai flinches, it is pure glacial and she tells them when she was done Neji would learn a bit of fear. The Copy Nin regards her lazily and agrees, Gai gapes at him, and tells her they'll go with her. She smiles coldly and sweeps ahead. They sneak into Neji's room without any trouble, Neji slept on the fuuton not knowing how close he was to danger. She kneels and subtly breaks into his mind so it seems like drops of blood lands around and in his mouth, he'll wake with iron and copper in his mouth and an irrational fear of dark red. Neji slept on never knowing how close he had come to dying that night.

She uses the month wisely, running her team into the ground. They all received crash courses in layering and creating more complex genjutsu, and all their minds hurt as well as their bodies but she was unrelenting. To her pride Hinata seems to be pursuing a career as a genjutsu specialist. Ino comes under her radar of influence and she can see at once Ino can be brilliant. She has the sharp observational skills of the typical Yamanaka and she remembers when Asuma confessed Ino was the first of the Rookies to kill another person and to Kurenai it would be a crime to let that potential tarnish. She watches Ino struggle under a particularly fiddly illusion and smiles.

The third task approaches and she hides behind a mask of ice. Asuma tries to crack it but even his enigmatic mind cannot break it. She watches him get more and more frustrated and laughs in her mind how their roles had been reversed in just a few months. He reads the malicious amusement in her wicked eyes and deliberately blows smoke in her face. Then he stalks off pride wounded. She laughs behind him low and throaty and he tenses before relaxing again. In apology she sits next to him in the stands meeting his incredulous stare with a raised eyebrow. He shakes his head and tells her he doesn't understand her then drags his cigarette, it's all she has not to burst into hysterical laughter at that comment. The first match is announced and all her laughter withers like ash. Kurenai leans forward watching Uzumaki and Neji walk on the field.

It's hard to believe Hinata; strong, brave Hinata hails from the same clan. He is soft, naïve and arrogant and while his talents might be good for his age he is truly foolish to air his clan's secrets in public. Her lip curls, she is unable to understand his desire for freedom. She is a genjutsu mistress, taking other people's wills and shackling them is what she does for a living. She gives her victims pretty cages with hidden thorns just like his clan did to him. To her side she watches Asuma's face slacken slightly in sympathy then harden again, none of the senseis condone his actions against her student. It must be his element she muses, free like the wind. That's why he ran away, the duty of being the Hokage's son seemed like a gilded cage to him. This epiphany brings a soft smile to her as she wonders how he feels about her work.

Her desire for vengeance is satisfied as Naruto gives the tantalising taste of victory to Neji then cruelly rips it away, it's so much like her it hurts to identify the emotion. Perhaps she misjudged the brat. She clasps her hand over her heart and bows head slightly, a sign of gratefulness. It does not matter Naruto cannot see it, she will support him with what he needs for a single favour. Neji is left broken on the field and she cannot bring herself to care. The next match is postponed and the senseis smirk, Kakashi was such a bad influence and she relaxes for a good fight from her genin. Only to be bitterly disappointed when his opponent surrenders, it draws attention to her genin and dislike is sharp in her throat. Attention kills ninja her mind intones darkly.

Asuma puffs on his cigarette strongly as Shikamaru is unceremoniously shoved over the side. Not for the first time she is reminded of his father as she blows the smoke back in his face and smiles innocently. His opponent was a wind user it seemed, unlucky for her Shikamaru was well versed in fighting wind. The match drags on and on but she has to admit it has a brilliant conclusion. The Nara kid had inherited the prodigal genes of his father and the quick thinking of his mother. She bursts out laughing as Asuma drops his cigarette when his genin gives up an inch from victory. The slack jawed look does nothing for him so she gently clicks it back into place and tries not to giggle at the flabbergasted expression on his face.

Kakashi swirls up a minute later and Gai is heard moaning about that damn hip attitude spreading to the youth. Sasuke's fight is climatic but before it settles into a rhythm a genjutsu starts. She leaps up and dispels it instantly, watching masked shinobi leap up and draw blades. She grins savagely as Asuma roars to his feet beside her and spins her lies. She whirls keeping an eye on her genin as they too slash and enchant the crowd. Asuma mutters something about little genin being tricky devils before decapitating a Nin who snuck up on him. She replaces herself with a falling feather to break a person's nose and make them think the bone pieces are burrowing into their skull. A fair few fight and break her genjutsu but she is there to kill in a spray of red. Asuma makes the earth split and he blurs taking out enemies by the dozens. There was a reason he was trusted to guard the Daimyo. Her next group collapse under her killing intent as she flares it and she feels pity at the sheer state of the troops. Then another genjutsu specialist is up and she has no time to think.

The chairs wind around her only to spin into water chains at her opponent who absorbs them into his body before his body splits apart in gore to reveal clicking pincers and sharp chitin. She stamps on one and it forms around her foot and she grins and turns her boot into having sharp spikes which impale it and fly towards him who isn't there anymore. But truth be told neither is she when his sword dances through what he thought was her but it explodes into crimson flowers which cocoon him and he shatters it like glass and before she can react to him he decapitates her. Her hair flying and a spray of blood, her body collapses and he sighs before freezing as his own sword gets him though the kidneys. She stands behind him as he dissolves into smoke. Her own dead corpse melt into sludge and reforms into black snarling dogs which is met blow for blow from diamond hawks. Their genjutsu clash and they battle it out in their minds, layering layers upon layers. She dives into his head and feels his apprehension about his new iron rib fix while he confuses her sense of distance. But for him it's already over as she tricks her brain into rejecting the iron. He collapses in the stands as all his gen jutsu collapses with a breath of wind. He coughs up blood and seizes but she stamps on his head with a chakra infused foot and he doesn't have to worry anymore.

She drives a boot into her next opponent and sends her choking away. A more threatening Suna Nin comes up to take her place. She grits her teeth, he must have been briefed on her as he had ear plugs and his eyes closed. Her greatest weapon had its edge dulled. She starts off with a high kick and he senses it coming godammit he's a sensor as well as a wind user. She really regrets being an earth type now. It's a terrible parody of her versus Asuma but this time she cannot afford to lose. She engages him in a Jonin level spar as a plan works out in her head. Slowly, slowly she draws him further back where Asuma is meeting wind with wind and blowing weapons right back. She gets close enough for him to acknowledge him and suddenly grabs him by the shoulders to swing towards her opponent his primary wind chakra cancelling his primary wind chakra. He grunts in surprise but recovers well as the enemy Nin stumbles fatally confused for a second. But a second is all she needs for she zooms forward and their lips meet as she grabs his head and draws him into the kiss sending her chakra inside him and trapping him. Trying to outwit her was a nice thought but ultimately useless.

Asuma watches her agape as she lets go of the Nin finally and he collapses knocked out. Apparently he didn't think kissing enemies in battle to engage their chakra path work a valid tactic. He splutters for a bit before turning back to the invasion as she spins over him and kicks someone in the jaw. Kakashi yells at them to engage the enemy in the village as they had it under control here. She looks up to the Hokage box and her heart skips a beat as she notices a red barrier, Hokage! Asuma looks worried for a second as he remembers how old his father is but follows after her as she leaps from the side of the stadium to the ground outside in a crouch. He releases his tension by locking blades with some Oto jonin while Kurenai turns the entire ground to mud to trap anyone slower than themselves. She has the advantage here, this is her home village. Making them forget their directions or their sense of direction was a piece of cake. ANBU blurred in front of them neatly dispatching several invaders. Several large explosions rocked the ground and large plumes of dust and smoke leapt into the air.

Kurenai fights in glee, in worry in desperation for this is her link to reality. Her hands are stained in blood for this village. She bends and lies for this village. And she didn't think she could stand it if it was destroyed. The last time Konoha had been attacked the Kyuubi had rampaged and she had felt so damn helpless. How did you fight malevolent chakra? How did you trick chakra? It would chew her up and spit her out with relish. Anger and bitterness had coiled in her gut as she saw so many, so many good shinobi killed, stamped, burned because they tried to do something and they paid the ultimate price. Something in her broke at that sight, she cracked from the inside and her fledgling talent for Genjutsu exploded after that night. Chakra took away her parents, she's turn her chakra into taking away other people's loved ones so maybe, and just maybe that aching gnawing hole in her could be filled. Perhaps blood could wash away the damned guilt she felt.

She fights like a demon, a whirlwind a shadow. She cannot let this village fall! It was all she had left. Asuma slices and cuts through bone, flesh and gristle and he is soaked in blood and it drips onto her as she shakes it off. One fell to her screaming about past heart aches, another collapses in terror at her Killing Intent, another dies with a smile on his lips. The faces blur and become a flesh coloured chain which wraps around her soul binding it firmly to her. She is a kunoichi and her purpose is to kill.

When the invasion is finally repelled and they take stock of the damages, she breathes deeply savouring the ash and fire on the breeze. For Konoha is safe. Her team is safe. Her partner in battle is safe. Asuma comes up behind her and in a moment of daring, she turns and kisses him. Hungrily to mask her chakra flowing into him and doing what she did best. He stumbles and kisses back and this time it holds. She breaks it when she breaks the kiss and asks him how he liked her solution. He quite seriously tells her that solution was only applicable to him and to find another solution for everyone else. Then he kisses her again. And maybe in a world of lies and half-truth she can find the absolute truth if she looks hard enough. What did you get when you mixed trickery and wind? Mirages.

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